Combined filling fork and weft-replenishing mechanism



Dec. 3, 1929` w. H. wAKEr-'IELD 1,737,691

COMBINED FILLINGyFRK AND WEFT REPLENISHING KECHANISM Filed March 12, 192s 2 shams-sheet 1 @d M/@fHM/fg/O/ Dec. 3, 1929. w. H. WAKEFIELD i 1,737,691

COMBINED FILLING FORK AND WEFT REPLENISHING IEGHANISM Filed Maron 12, 192s 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Dec. 3, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WALTER H. WAKEFIELD, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CROMPTON & KNOWLES LOOM WORKS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS COMBINED FILLING FORK AND VEFT-REPLENISHING MECHANISM Application filed March 12, 1928.

This invention relates to improvements in automatic weft replenishing looms and it is the general obj ect of the invention to combine the means for actuating the filling stop motion with a portion of the weft replenishing mechanism.

Looms as ordinarily constructed are provided with a filling stop motion which operates to arrest the loom when there is a fault in the filling. These motions are ordinarily of two types, namely, center stop motions which have a fork to operate in a well located approximately at the center of the lay, and the side stop motions which have a tiltable fork which cooperates with the filling and a vertical grid on the lay at one side of the clot-h. In either type of motion the detection for filling comes during the forward motion of the lay, the detection ordinarily being somewhat later in the side stop mot-ions than in the center stop motions. With side stop motions it is customary to have a regularly moving actuator move forwardly when the lay is in its extreme forward position and if weft is present the fork will be tilted by engagement with the weft so that a forwardly extending tail or hook will` be out of the path of the actuator. This actuator is usually driven by a cam on the bottom shaft and receives a motion every second piclr of the loom.

Multicolor weft replenishing mechanisms as employed commercially include in their construction a vertically reciprocable block or rod on the upper end of which is mounted a ioating lever. Y When the shuttle is on the plain or magazine end of the loom the detector is in engagement with the filling when the lay is in its foremost position and it is at this time that the rod receives a downward motion. The floating lever carriedby the rod will clear a controller pin if sufficient yarn is present, but if, as the lay reaches its foremost position, the weft detector gives an indication of weft depletion the controller pin will lie under the lever to interrupt the downward movement of the latter and thereby initiate replenishment.

l It will be seen that the actuator for the side stop motion and the block or rod for the Serial N0. 261,148.

floating lever of the replenishing mechanism have movements at substantially the same time and it is an important object of my invention to derive the movements for the filling fork actuator and the floating lever rod from the same source.

In multicolor weft replenishing mechanisms where a side filling fork is used it is necessary that the forli be on the magazine side of the loom. This is due to the fact that on the opposite end of the loom where the shifting shuttle boxes are located there will always be one or more idle shuttles, the filling of which would operate to rock the tilting fork of a side stop motion on every forward beat of the loom should the filling fork be located on that side of the loom, that is, the box side. As a matter of practical construction, therefore, it is necessary to have the side stop motion located on the magazine side of the loom and as previously pointed out the motions for the side stop motion and the floating lever come at practically the same time in the cycle of the pick of the loom and may therefore be derived conveniently without lengthy connections from the same driving member.

l/Vith these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein I have shown a convenient embodiment of my invention,

Fig. l is a side elevation of a loom having my invention applied thereto, parts being in section,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation taken in the direct-ion of arrow 2, Fig. l, showing parts of the magazine not shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation taken in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a top plan view, parts being in section, taken in the direction of arrow 4, Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a detailed vertical section on line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the loom frame lO has a shipper handle 11 the upper end of which is movable in a slot 12 cast in bracket 13 secured to the loom frame. The shipper handle is normally held in the notch 14 when the loom is running and is located behind the finger. 15 of alever 16 pivotedon stud 17 extending vertically from and'secured to the bracket 13. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the left hand end of the lever 16 is received in a pocket 1`8\ fformed in thev forward endv of a siide 19 guided'in aplate 20 secured to the frame 10.

A filling fork 21 is pivoted as at 22 to the rear end of the slide 19 and has a forwardly extending tail 23 whichI is slottedy as at 24 in Fig. 4 and said fork also has substantially verticaltinesv25i which cooperate with a grid 26-secured tothe lay L. An actuator head 27 is normally located in the opening 24 and moves forwardly on alternate beats of the looml when the lay. is in its front position. When weft WV is present it will engage the tines-25 to rock thefork 21 to the position shown infFig. 1, thus lifting the slotted portion 24foutv ofthe path'ofithe head27 and the latten will move forwardly in a slot 28 formedin the slide 19. When weft is absent, however, the t/ines 25 are not moved forwardlyand the head; asthesame moves forwaldly, engagesfthetail- 28 to move the slide 19 fmntwardly. Thisfmovement on the part of the'slide'canses'saaroeking of lever 16 in a conntereclockwise direction as-viewed in Fig. 4y aroundstud 17. and causes finger 15 to move thev shipper handle 11- outl of the notch 14. The shipper handleV will then move to loom stopping position.

The; matter thusfar describedy in connection with the filling stop; motion is'of' common construction and operates in the usual manner, tlie-l only: difference being that the head27 as shown herein is somewhat different in form but performs the same functions as'the head in the ordinary. stop motions.

Vieft" replenishingmechanisms of the multioolor'type such asshown in .prior patent to RfyolrNo.l 1,030,748include aimagazine frame 30, see Fig. 2, in which ismountedt for verticalfreciprocastonA one or more slides'31 having pper'arrd" lower lugs 32 andf33, respectively, which cooperate with a finger 34 of the socalled color slide CJ Said slide moves in: aidireetion transverse tothe slides-31 and is supported in bearings 35 extending from the' plate'- 30.. 15o oolon siide.V hasv a tongue 36iwhicl1 hassliilinglengazgement,with-:elevar 37 pivotedfon-.a/slia: 38:wihich forms part of tlfieoelorv slide. Said lever 3-7I is pivotally connected as at 39 to dlerupper end'ofrod or link'40fthe lower end offwhich is adjustably connected to the=left handen'd of aniactuator or floating lever 41. Said lever floats about a pivot defined by stud 42carried at'the upper end of a reciprocatin block-43 the lower end' of -whichi is .axjueta ly: connectedv to the pumpmdlfwhi'ch, aeshowniin Fig. 1, lis .piv-

otally connected as at 45 to the forward end of a cam lever 46. The latter lever is pivoted to a fixed stud 47 and has the rear end 48 thereof extended into a cam groove 49 formed on a cam 5() which is keyedor otherwise securedto the bottom shaft 51.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4 the right hand end of the floating actuator lever 41 extends into an upstandinghorn 52 formed as part of a stand 53 which may be secured in any manner to the loom frame. Said horn is provided witha slot 54 into which the actuator lever projects and' said horn isprovided at the upper end thereof with a pin 55 which extends across the slot 54. Below the floating lever is located a controller pin 56 which is positioned by the weft detecting mechanism not shown.

During the normal running of the loom the bottom shaft 51 will be given a complete rotation every second pick of the loom and the cam 50 will be so designedandplaced on the bottom. shaft as to move the block 43 downwardly when the shuttle is on-the mag,- azine side of the loom and theV lay is at front center or in its extreme forward position. If under these conditions the controller 56 be out of the path of the actuator lever the latter will descend without interruption to assume the dottedLline-position shown in Fig. 2. Should the pin 56, howeverbe under the actuator lever said pin will? become the fnlcrnmof the actuator lever as the block 43 descends and the left hand end. of said lever together with the rod 40 as viewed in Fig. 2 will move downwardly. The effect of this will'be to raise-finger 34'so that the slide 31 corresponding to the active shuttle will be raised. It is tobe understood that there are several slides 31, onefor each active shuttle or each shuttle box on the opposite end-of the loom. This operation, as previously stated, takes place whent-he shuttle is on the magazine: side of the loom.

lVhen the shuttle has been picked across to the opposite side of the loom the block-43 will receive an upward movementY to cause the actuatorl lever to assume the position shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 2, the pin4 55. becomingfthe'fulcrum around which the leven moves., This latter operation occurs on alternate beats of the loom whenthe shuttleis either on the box endV or is being picked toward the box. end: and awayfrom'the magazine which is independent of the action of the wefb detector. rPhe matter described; heretoforeA as being controlled by the cam 50 is substantially the same asithat4 shownin patent to Ryon No. 1,030,748and forms` no part of my present invention.

My` present improvements. relate tomeansv for/actuating the filling stop ymotion fromthe` same moving member which is'anv essential part of the weft replenishing mechanism. and in; canrying my invention into-effect.' I.

eXtend an arm rearwardly from the plate or stand 2() and secure in the same an upstanding stud 61. Pivotally mounted on said stud is a lever 62 the left hand arm of which as shown in Fig. 4 carries the head 27. The right hand arm 63 has an upwardly extending portion 64 provided with a pair of slots 65 through which extend bolts 66. Said bolts or screws extend into a cam member 67 the vertical position of which may be adjusted because of the slots 65. Said cam member 67 has at the upper portion thereof a substantially vertical surface 68 which at the lower end thereof merges with an inclined surface 69 as shown in Fig. 5.

The rearwardly extending end of the stud 42 is enlarged as at 70, as shown in Fig. 4` and may be rounded for cooperation with the cam member 67. The upwardly extending face 68 is sufficiently high to have contact with the portion 70 of the stud when the block 43 is in its highest position so that. if desired the lever may* be held against the stud as a stop by means of torsion spring 71. Said spring surrounds stud 61 and as shown in Fig. 4 has one end in engagement with the arm 60 and the other end in engagement with the lever, tending to move the latter in a right hand direction around stud 61 as viewed in said Fig. 4.

Under normal conditions the cam 50 will cause the block 43 and stud 42 to descend as already described when the shuttle is on the magazine side of 'the loom and the lay is substantially in its extreme forward position. At this time the controller pin 56 will have received its movement from the detector and the actuator lever 41 may descend. As the block 43 moves downwardly the end 7 0 will ride along inclined face 69 to rocl the lever 62 in a counter-clockwise direction as 'viewed in Fig. 4 around stud 61, the effect of which is to move the head 27 forwardly. If weft is present behind the fork 21 the latter will be rocked to the position shown in Fig. 1 and said head 27 may continue its forward movement without contact with the tail 23, but should the weft be absent said head will engage the tail to move slide 19 forwardly and operate to stop the loom, as previously described.

From an inspection of Fig. 4 it will be apparent that the block 43 is capable of causing the actuator lever to cooperate with the controller pin 56 independently of any relation which may be brought about by said block 43 between the head 27 and the hook 23. The controller pin 56 and the tail 23 may cooperate with their respective regularly moving actuators on the same beat of the loom and each will act independently of the other. 1t has been customary heretofore to employ a long lever and a cam on the bottom shaft in addition to that indicated at 50 in Fig. 1 for operating the side stop motion, but by the mechanism set forth herein the latter motion can be caused to operate by making use of that part of the motion of the block 43 which comes at the proper time in the cycle of the operation of the loom to cause correct functioning of the filling fork and slide 19.

From the foregoing it will be seen that l have provided a very simple means for actuating a weft replenishing mechanism and a filling stop motion from the same cam by making use of that portion of the cam which operates during the time in which the detection for weft presence by the filling fork may be made. It will also be noted that the relative locations of the plunger 43 and slide 19 as theyl occur ordinarily in a loom make it convenient to pivot lever 62 between these devices. lVhile l have shown a particular form of lever and means for communicating motion from the block 43 to the head 27 yet I do not wish to be limited to this showing. Furthermore, it will be seen that those portions of the replenishing mechanism which are controlled by the detector not shown may act independently of the filling stop motion, although each of these devices derives its operating movement from the same source. By proper location of the cam member 67 the head 27 may be caused to move forwardly at the proper time.

Having thus described my invention it will be apparent that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay, weft replenishing mechanism including as a part thereof a rocking color slide element which receives a motion on detecting beats of the loom when exhaustion of weft is indicated when the lay is substantially in its foremost position, a filling stop motion, and a single moving member to cooperate with the element to give the latter a rocking movement on weft exhaustion indicating beats of the loom and also the filling stop motion to effect operation of the filling stop mot-ion.

2. In a weft replenishing` loom having` a lay, a weft replenishingmechanism including as a part thereof a rocking 'color slide member having a movement on detecting beats of the loom when exhaustion of weft is indicated when the lay is in its extreme forward position, a movable element formed as part of the replenishing mechanism to be operatively related to the member to rock the same to initiate replenishment, and a filling stop motion to be operatively related upon absence of weft to the member to cause stopping of the loom.

3. In a loom having a lay, a weft replenishing mechanism having a color slide, a filling stop motion, a single regularly moving member having a movement when the lay K motion to effect either initiation of replenishment or stoppage of the loom through the stop motion.

4. In a loom having a lay, a weft replenishing mechanism having a-color slide, a filling stop motion effective to stop the loom on absence of weft, and a regularly moving actuator operatively connected tothe color slide to have a movement when the lay is in its forward position on weft exhaustion indicating beats of the loom to move the color slide and common to the replenishing mechanism and filling fork to actuate either or both of said devices.l

5. In a loom having a lay, a weft replenishing mechanism having a color slide located at one side of the loom, a filling stop motion located at the same side of the loom and effective to stop the loom upon absence of weft. and a member receiving a regular movement when the lay is in its forward position on detecting beats of the loom when the shuttle is on the replenishing mechanism side of the loom, and means to operatively connect said member either to the color slide of the replenishing mecahnism or the filling stop m0- tion,4 whereby said member is effective either to initiate replenishment or tostop the loom.

6. In a loom having a lay, a weft replenishing mechanism having a color slide located at one side of the loom, a filling stop motion located at the same side of the loom and effective tostop the loom upon absence of weft, and a member receiving a regular movement when the lay. is in its forward position on detecting beats of the loom when the shuttle is on the replenishing mechanism side of thc loom, and means to operatively connect said member either to the color slide of the replenishing mechanism or the filling stof) motion, whereby said member is effective either to initiate replenishment or to stop the loom, said member being located between the weft reilenishing mechanism and the filling stop motion.

In testimony whereof fixed my signature.

WALTER H. VVAKEFIELD.V

I have hereunto af- 

